§268. Atchafalaya Basin Bridge; highway safety corridor; camera usage; signs

            A.(1) The legislature finds and declares that the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge shall be identified as a highway safety corridor based on data analytics that have identified this segment of highway as a high collision crash zone resulting in severe injury and fatality due primarily to driver behavior such as speeding, aggressive driving, impairment, and distracted driving. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, including R.S. 32:267 et seq., the Department of Transportation and Development shall take all steps necessary to implement the provisions of this Section.

            (2) The legislature further finds and declares that the department shall implement measures to reduce safety risks to both law enforcement and individuals driving across the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge including but not limited to the implementation of camera safety devices and installation of additional signage.

            (3) For purposes of implementation of this Section, the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge shall mean the Atchafalaya Elevated Expressway designated by Act No. 793 of the 1989 Regular Session of the Legislature as the Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge.

            B.(1) The department shall install camera safety devices on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. The department may consult with the Safety Corridor Advisory Group to determine the quantity, placement, duration of use, and operation of the cameras. The department may monitor the cameras or may contract with a third party to monitor the cameras. The department may determine whether the cameras should be utilized continuously or only during certain hours.

            (2) The department shall establish a process for identification of motor vehicles traveling in excess of the posted speed limit, issuance of warnings and citations, and collection of fines.

            (3) The department shall adopt policies and procedures for the issuance of citations and the collection of fines authorized pursuant to this Section in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

            C. The department shall place the following signs, in compliance with the standards set forth in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge:

            (1) Signs placed at the eastbound entrance of the bridge and signs placed at the westbound entrance of the bridge that state "Safety Corridor, Fines Doubled for Speeding and Other Violations". The department shall design the color, size, and shape of the signs in a manner that safely alerts and informs drivers that they are entering a highway safety corridor. The department may place additional signs designed pursuant to this Paragraph along the bridge as necessary.

            (2) Eight sets of speed limit signs equally spaced on the eastbound portion of the bridge and eight sets of speed limit signs equally spaced on the westbound portion of the bridge.

            (3) Six sets of "Trucks Right Lane Only" signs equally spaced on the eastbound portion of the bridge and six sets of "Trucks Right Lane Only" signs equally spaced on the westbound portion of the bridge.

            D. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as precluding any police officer from enforcing traffic laws on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. However, no person shall be subject to a citation issued pursuant to this Section if a citation for the same offense was also issued by a police officer.

            E.(1) There is hereby created in the state treasury a special fund to be designated and hereafter referred to as the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge Safety Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "fund".

            (2) Any monies collected as fines pursuant to R.S. 32:57(J), as a result of traffic camera safety device data, shall be deposited into the fund.

            (3) Subject to legislative appropriation, monies in the fund shall be used first to fund the department's expenditures necessary to carry out the provisions of this Section. Thereafter, at the conclusion of each fiscal year, any unexpended monies in the fund shall be divided equally between the parishes of Iberville and St. Martin and shall be remitted to entities or organizations within each parish in the same proportions as fines collected by the parishes when traffic violations are issued by a law enforcement officer.

            (4) All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund.

            Acts 2022, No. 426, §1.